2012 NCAA Final Four

(1) Kentucky 69, (4) Louisville 61
(2) Kansas 64, (2) Ohio State 62

Wildcats Friday Schedule

The schedule for the Kentucky Wildcats this Friday is as follows:
2:30-2:45 p.m. Student-athlete news conference
2:30-3 p.m. Student-athlete interviews in or outside of locker room
2:45-3 p.m. Coach news conference
3:10-4 p.m. Open practice

Here is what ESPN has on deck for Friday:

Friday, March 30: Live coverage of team practices and press conferences with analysis and updates

WLKY Special Basketball Coverage

WLKY specials:
Friday 8 PM
Saturday: 3-4 PM and 11 PM-1 AM
Monday: 5-9 PM and after the championship game

2012 NCAA Final Four

FINAL FOUR
(1) Kentucky vs. (4) Louisville, 6:09 PM
(2) Ohio State vs. (2) Kansas, approx 8:49 PM

2012 NCAA Elite 8: Sunday Edition

SOUTH REGION
(1) Kentucky 82, (3) Baylor 70

MIDWEST REGION
(2) Kansas 80, (1) North Carolina 67

Calipari didn't like 21 Jump Street

John Calipari didn't like 21 Jump Street.

Thursday night, the team went to a film that Calipari described as “awful.” “There were some of the stupidest things in this movie I’ve ever seen,” he said. When pressed, he identified the stinker as “21 Jump Street,” a remake of a former television show about undercover cops fighting crime in high schools that launched Johnny Depp’s career. (Richard Greico’s career didn’t quite get the same boost.) The new version was played for laughs, which explains the casting of Seth Rogen.

Calipari sought to clarify that he was considerably older than the movie’s target audience. “I should say it was awful if you’re 53,” as Calipari is at the moment. “If you’re 19, 20, 21, it was a fun movie. But people were laughing. I was the only one not laughing.”

Calipari explained that he wasn’t responsible for the selection. Darius Miller “picks the movies, O.K.,” Calipari said to laughter, while Miller shrunk in his seat — which, given that he is 6-foot-8, isn’t easy to do.

Somebody needs to tell Robert Weintraub that Seth Rogen was not in the movie.

2012 NCAA Elite 8: Saturday Edition

WEST REGION
(4) Louisville 72, (7) Florida 68

EAST REGION
(2) Ohio State 77, (1) Syracuse 70

2012 NCAA Sweet 16: Friday Edition

SOUTH REGION CBS
(3) Baylor 75, (10) Xavier 70
(1) Kentucky 102, (4) Indiana 90

MIDWEST REGION TBS
(1) North Carolina 73, (13) Ohio 65 (OT)
(2) Kansas 60, (6) N.C. State 57

2012 NCAA Sweet 16: Thursday Edition

EAST REGION CBS
(1) Syracuse 64, (4) Wisconsin 63
(2) Ohio State 81, (6) Cincinnati 66

WEST REGION TBS
(4) Louisville 57, (1) Michigan State 44
(7) Florida 68, (3) Marquette 58

Reports from Catlanta

Chad Ford just published an article on ESPN saying MKG would declare for the NBA Draft after the season ends. The problem with this? MKG has said recently that he would not go anywhere and would be graduating from Kentucky.

"He hopes he'll be able to announce right after they win the NCAA championship," one source said. "But even if they don't win it all, he's coming. He knows he's going to be a top-5 pick. He can't pass that up."

There's a strong feeling that the media will ask questions to MKG tomorrow with regards to this recent report.

The belief in Lexington is that he's going to stay at Kentucky, which is why this report is surprising to many.

MKG responded via twitter. Tweet 1:

I don't know where this is coming from. This is MY decision. Right now all I'm focused on my Teammates and winning Game

Tweet 2:

After the season Ill make a decision that's best for me and my family!

Meanwhile, Gary Parrish spoke with Coach John Calipari about the Mississippi State opening.

"He's from there," Calipari said when I asked about Payne and Mississippi State in a hallway here at the Georgia Dome just before his Wildcats held an open practice in advance of Friday's Sweeet 16 game against Indiana. "You can't be a head coach unless you're ready to say no -- ready to create discipline in these kids' lives, and he is. He's probably tougher on our kids than I am. And then his recruiting speaks for itself. ... He would be a good choice."[...]

"If someone has an interest in him they're gonna end up calling me at some point or I'll make a call," Calipari said. "He's gonna have opportunities."

Time will tell, of course, as to what happens with Payne's future.

Rick Bozich reports that Anthony Davis--surprise, surprise, is undecided on his future.

“I really haven’t decided yet,” Davis said. “I’m just still worried about the season right now. The season’s not over. You can’t really worry about the future right now. So I’m trying to win a national championship for my team, and then when the time comes, whether it be this year or next year or whatever year, that’s when I’m going to have to sit down with my family and my coaches and decide what I’m going to do.”

I'm not going to lie. I hope that the core crop opts to return next season, especially if they pull off a championship win this season.

John Clay has the transcript of the press conference with Kentucky student-athletes and head coach John Calipari.

Cal took ANOTHER DIG at the hack that we call Jerry Tipton!

Michael is maybe the youngest freshman in the country by the way. Now, I have a writer in our town that will look that up. He’ll look up every freshman in the country to find out if he is the youngest freshman in the country. I will tell you, I would say right there that he’s one of the youngest in the country.

Finally, in music news not related to the Cats, Ram is receiving a re-release.

Paul and Linda McCartney's 1971 album will be released across a variety of formats with new and exclusive content including a beautifully packaged Deluxe Edition Box Set - the ultimate collectable.

Coaches name All-Americans

The NABC has named their All-American teams. They are as follows:


2012 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM
Anthony Davis, Kentucky, 6-10, 220, Freshman, Forward, Chicago, Ill.
Draymond Green, Michigan State, 6-7, 230, Senior, Forward, Saginaw, Mich.
Doug McDermott, Creighton, 6-7, 220, Sophomore, Forward, Ames, Iowa
Thomas Robinson, Kansas, 6-10, 237, Junior, Forward, Washington, D.C.
Jared Sullinger, Ohio State, 6-9, 280, Sophomore, Forward, Columbus, Ohio

2012 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
Harrison Barnes, North Carolina, 6-8, 215, Sophomore, Forward, Ames, Iowa
Marcus Denmon, Missouri, 6-3, 185, Senior, Guard, Kansas City, Mo.
Kevin Jones, West Virginia, 6-8, 260, Senior, Forward, Mount Vernon, N.Y.
Kris Joseph, Syracuse, 6-7, 210, Senior, Forward, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Tyler Zeller, North Carolina, 7-0, 250, Senior, Forward, Washington, Ind.

2012 NABC COACHES’ DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM
Isaiah Canaan, Murray State, 6-0, 193, Junior, Guard, Biloxi, Miss.
Jae Crowder, Marquette, 6-6, 235, Senior, Forward, Villa Rica, Ga.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky, 6-7, 232, Freshman, Forward, Somerdale, N.J.
Damian Lillard, Weber State, 6-3, 195, Junior, Guard, Oakland Calif.
Austin Rivers, Duke, 6-4, 204, Freshman, Guard, Winter Park, Fla.

Lehigh kills brackets, makes Big Blue Nation happy

Until Lehigh found a way to defeat Duke University in Friday night’s first round of the NCAA tournament, the last three teams to knock off a 2 seed during the first round all hailed from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Coppin State, Hampton, and Norfolk State. Who would have ever guessed?

Lehigh, though, pulled off what is easily the greatest upset in all of college basketball when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.

Yeah, yeah, I know. You are probably going to remind me that Gardner-Webb, a member of the Big South defeated my Kentucky Wildcats during the 2008-09 season. However, I’ll tell that that game was during the regular season and due to the pathetic coaching of one Billy Gillispie.

Lehigh, a member of the Patriot League, joins Bucknell in pulling of some shocking first round upsets. Bucknell, if you recall, upset Kansas in the first round of the 2005 tournament. Bradley, in 2006, did the same but they are a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. Another MVC team did so in 2010 but that was in the second round.

The story here is not just the mere fact that Lehigh pulled off an upset against Duke in the first round. It’s that they pulled it off in the state of North Carolina. Greensboro, no less?

As I have said time and time again, you cannot script March. But seeing Duke go down in the first or second round is something that brings joy to my heart. I’ve been hating that university since March 28, 1992, and nothing will ever change the way I feel about Duke.

Kentucky-Iowa State link roundup

Vaught's Views: Terrence Jones values winning national title now more than any offensive numbers
Vaught's Views: Darius Miller once again comes up big at crunch time for Wildcats
Vaught's Views: Winning, not revenge, on Marquis Teague’s mind as Kentucky gets rematch with Indiana
Brian Bennett, ESPN: Kentucky has all the answers vs. Iowa State
Pat Forde, Yahoo Sports: Top-seeded ‘Cats shoot their way into Sweet 16
Jeff Goodman, CBS Sports: Kentucky PG Teague finding his stride at the exact right time
Michael DeCourcy, Sporting News: NCAA Tournament 2012: Terrence Jones takes a beating, keeps UK ticking

2012 NCAA Sweet 16 and Regional Finals

Times set for this weekend on CBS and TBS.

Play-By-Play/Analyst/Reporter
Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson - SOUTH
Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager - MIDWEST
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser - EAST
Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore/Marty Snider - WEST

Thursday:
EAST REGION CBS
7:15 PM ET Wisconsin vs. Syracuse
approx 9:45 PM Cincinnati vs. Ohio State

WEST REGION TBS
7:47 PM: Louisville vs. Michigan State
30 minutes after: Florida vs. Marquette

Friday:
SOUTH REGION CBS
7:15 PM Baylor vs. Xavier
approx 9:45 PM: Kentucky vs. Indiana

MIDWEST REGION TBS
7:47 PM North Carolina vs. Ohio
30 minutes after: Kansas vs. N.C. State

2012 NCAA Second Round: Sunday Edition

SOUTH REGION
(10) Xavier 70, (15) Lehigh 58 (TruTV)

WEST REGION
(1) Michigan. St 65, (9) Saint Louis 61 (CBS)
(7) Florida 84, (15) Norfolk St. 50 (TNT)

EAST REGION
(6) Cincinnati 62, (3) Florida St. 56 (TBS)

MIDWEST REGION
(1) North Carolina 87, (8) Creighton 73 (CBS)
(13) Ohio 62, (12) South Florida 56 (TBS)
(11) NC State 66, (3) Georgetown 63 (CBS)
(2) Kansas 63, (10) Purdue 60 (TNT)

Some thoughts...

You know how the media said we would be facing UConn, Indiana, and Duke on the way to a Final Four? Two of three aren't happening.

I'm looking forward to the rematch against Indiana. Just like in 1996, we'll avenge the sole loss of the regular season with a win. It's not exactly the same Indiana team with Verdell Jones III out for the season.

Kentucky put on a show tonight. The game was tied 42 all before Kentucky went on a 34-10 tear. Three pointers were going down like crazy...for Kentucky. However, for Iowa State, that was not the case. The Cyclones finished the evening shooting 13.6% from outside with only 3 out of 22 shots going in from outside the arc.

Kentucky sure loves to play in Louisville though. Saturday night, the Cats hit 50% of their 20 attempts from outside. Doron Lamb hit 5, Darius Miller hit 3, and both Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer had a shot a piece go in for 3.

My hat's off to Marquis Teague. Teague finished the game with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal.

Three Kentucky starters finished the night with double digit scoring: Marquis Teague, 24; Darius Miller, 19; Doron Lamb, 16; Anthony Davis, 15.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Terrence Jones will need to play like the All-Americans that they are when it comes to the rematch against Indiana. That will be one of the keys to the game. That and keeping Davis out of foul trouble.

NCAA Second Round: Sunday Tip-Off Times

Columbus:
Georgetown vs. NC State, 12:15 PM (CBS)
Michigan St. vs. Saint Louis, approx 2:45 PM (CBS)

Greensboro:
North Carolina vs. Creighton, 5:15 PM (CBS)
Xavier vs. Lehigh, approx 7:45 PM (TruTV)

Omaha:
Florida vs. Norfolk St., 6:10 PM (TNT)
Kansas vs. Purdue, approx 8:40 PM (TNT)

Nashville:
South Florida vs. Ohio, 7:10 PM (TBS)
Florida St. vs. Cincinnati, approx 9:40 PM (TBS)

2012 NCAA Second Round: Saturday Edition

SOUTH REGION
(1) Kentucky 77, Iowa State 61(CBS)
(4) Indiana 63, (12) VCU 61 (TBS)
(3) Baylor vs. (11) Colorado, 8:40 PM (TNT)

WEST REGION
(4) Louisville 59, (5) New Mexico 56 (TBS)
(3) Marquette 62, (6) Murray State 53 (CBS)

EAST REGION
(1) Syracuse 75, (8) Kansas State 59 (CBS)
(4) Wisconsin 60, (5) Vanderbilt 57 (TNT)
(2) Ohio State 73, (7) Gonzaga 66 (CBS)

2012 NCAA First Round: Friday Edition

SOUTH REGION
(15) Lehigh 75, (2) Duke (CBS)
(10) Xavier 67, (7) Notre Dame 63 (CBS)

WEST REGION
(9) Saint Louis 61, (8) Memphis 54 (TBS)
(1) Michigan State 89, (16) LIU Brooklyn 67 (TBS)
(7) Florida 71, (10) Virginia 45 (TNT)
(15) Norfolk State 86, (2) Missouri 84 (TNT)

EAST REGION
(6) Cincinnati 65, (11) Texas 59 (CBS)
(3) Florida State 66 (14) St. Bonaventure 63 (CBS)

MIDWEST REGION
(8) Creighton 58, (9) Alabama 57 (TBS)
(1) North Carolina 77, (16) Vermont 58 (TBS)
(13) Ohio 65, (4) Michigan 60 (TNT)
(12) South Florida 58, (5) Temple 44 (TNT)
(11) NC State 79, (6) San Diego State 65 (TruTV)
(3) Georgetown 74, (14) Belmont 59 (TruTV)
(10) Purdue 72, (7) Saint Mary's 69 (TruTV)
(2) Kansas 65 (15) Detroit 50 (TruTV)

NCAA Second Round: Saturday Tip-Off Times

In Louisville:
(3) Marquette vs. (6) Murray State, 5:15 PM (CBS)
(1) Kentucky vs. Iowa State, approx 8:00 PM (CBS)

In Portland
(4) Indiana vs. (12) VCU, 7:10 PM (TBS)
(4) Louisville vs. (5) New Mexico, approx 9:40 PM (TBS)

In Pittsburgh:
(1) Syracuse vs. (8) Kansas State, 12:15 PM (CBS)
(2) Ohio State vs. (7) Gonzaga, approx 2:45 PM (CBS)

In Albuquerque:
(4) Wisconsin vs. (5) Vanderbilt, 6:10 PM (TNT)
(3) Baylor vs. (11) Colorado, 8:40 PM (TNT)

2012 NCAA First Round: Thursday Edition

SOUTH REGION
(1) Kentucky 81, (16) Western Kentucky 66 (TBS)
(8) Iowa State 77, (9) UConn 64 (TBS)
(12) Virginia Commonwealth 62, (5) Wichita State 59(CBS)
(4) Indiana 79, (13) New Mexico State 66 (CBS)
(3) Baylor 68, (14) South Dakota State 60(TruTV)
(11) Colorado 68, (6) UNLV 64 (TruTV)

WEST REGION
(4) Louisville 69, (13) Davidson 62(TBS)
(5) New Mexico 75, (12) Long Beach State 68 (TBS)
(6) Murray State 58, (11) Colorado State 41 (CBS)
(3) Marquette 88, (14) Brigham Young 68 (CBS)

EAST REGION
(8) Kansas State 70, (9) Southern Miss 64 (TruTV)
(1) Syracuse 72, (16) UNC-Asheville 65 (TruTV)
(4) Wisconsin 73, (13) Montana 49 (TNT)
(5) Vanderbilt 78, (12) Harvard 70 (TNT)
(7) Gonzaga 77, (10) West Virginia 54 (TNT)
(2) Ohio State 78, (15) Loyola (MD) 59 (TNT)

Thursday link Roundup

Gene Wojciechowski | ESPN.com: It's hard to judge the Kentucky Way

This has become the Kentucky Way. It isn't right or wrong. It's simply a by-product of a system in need of a mulligan.

Larry Vaught: Calipari has no interest in NBA, UConn’s Calhoun sees him going into Hall of Fame

“John at present rate, based upon numbers, is going in the Hall of Fame, assuming he stays in college basketball,” Calhoun said. “If you stick with it and you smell it enough, you’ll get it. So I don’t think it’s a case of John winning or not winning a national championship.

Jeff Goodman, CBSSports.com: Everyone wants UConn-Kentucky, but Iowa State wants to disappoint

Iowa State can win this game. This is a UConn team that's lost 10 times this year -- including losses to Central Florida, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Tennessee and Providence. That's five teams that weren't even worthy of an NCAA bid.

2012 NCAA First Four: Wednesday Edition

16 Vermont 71, Lamar 59 (TruTV)
12 South Florida 65, California 54 (TruTV)

Cal on Kentucky teams

John Clay has a transcript of this afternoon's presser. Coach John Calipari highlighted the Kentucky teams playing in the NCAA tournament.

Q. Coach, how about all these Kentucky teams in the tournament this year? Three of the four playing right here. Talk about what that means to the state of Kentucky.

COACH CALIPARI: I think it says a lot about basketball in this state. I mean, you’re talking about two of the teams, really three of the teams won their conference tournament. We did not. You’re talking three of the teams at the end of the year, they’re all on win streaks right now. Obviously, we are not.

But Murray was the story all year, and then at the end of the year, Ray gets Western playing, and out of nowhere they become the story. And then Louisville goes to New York and does what they do. It’s neat stuff for our state.

On the issue of one and dones:

Q. You discussed the one and done issue repeatedly, but I was curious, if you could put NBA executives, player agents, players’ union and yourself in a room and come up with a policy that worked, how would you like to see it changed?

COACH CALIPARI: How long can I‑‑ can I expound on this a little bit? Am I allowed to?

Here’s what I would say. It starts with you get the NCAA in the room, and you say you give these kids the stipend they deserve. That’s one.

Two, the insurance that they have to pay for themselves, which can be upwards of $15,000 per year, $20,000 per year that they have to pay for themselves. They’re loaned the money, and then they have to repay it when they come out. The NCAA should pay that to encourage them to stay.

The third thing is families, the NBA, and the NCAA should get together and have a loan program for those families‑‑ we’re only talking 30 kids. We’re not talking 500 players. We’re talking 30 kids that would be eligible for that insurance. They should be able to have a loan. To what level, I don’t know.

The last two things are the NBA. And Billy Hunter and I have talked about these. One, if a young man stays more than two years, his contract, his rookie contract should be shorter. And if a young man graduates, his pay scale should be higher when he comes in. Now we encourage these young people. It’s about them. You should stay because of the integrity of our school. Unless you’re Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, you guys leave and go change the world. But you guys, you stay in school because it’s the integrity. It doesn’t make sense to me.

My thing is these kids are chasing their dreams just like tennis players and golfers and geniuses and computer geeks and all the others. They’re chasing their dreams the same way. And what we’ve got to do is come together and say, how do we do right by these young people? How do we make sure?

If the NBA says, no, we don’t want to shorten their contract, well, then, it’s on them. It’s not on Billy Hunter, and it’s not on the NCAA. If the NCAA says, no, we’re not going to pay for this insurance. Those kids should pay for it themselves, disability insurance. Then that’s on the NCAA.

But I think there’s some things we can do, and hopefully people will come together and say these are simple things that would encourage young people to stay in school.

Let me say this. It’s like last year. Brandon Knight. Brandon Knight was a 4.0 student and had 60 college credits after one year. He transferred in 23 honors courses, and he graduated with 60 college credits. That’s two years of work in one year. But he was the seventh pick of the draft. How could you tell him to stay?

And Detroit, the Pistons, they love him. They want him to be what their whole organization is about. So it’s not academic, and it isn’t. It’s what is right for these young people.

Anybody want to talk about this tournament we’re about to play?

Some more talk about Western Kentucky University:

Q. Back to Western for a bit. What does it tell you about a team that continues to come back from double digit deficits and also a team that’s almost playing with house money because they could just as easily be sitting at home. How dangerous are they?

COACH CALIPARI: That’s what makes them dangerous. I told my team today, if you think they’re going to stop playing with 4:39 down 16, you’re out of your mind. I just watched it. They’re not stopping.

Literally, the other games I watched, they had people‑‑ or the people had them beat. It was over. And all of a sudden, you have to go back. How did they do this? They made plays.

They just play a vicious game. Ray should be proud of them. Their community should be proud of them.

Western Kentucky beats MVSU

Western Kentucky came down from 16 behind to win the game against Mississippi Valley State University with a final score of 59-58. MVSU is coached by UK alumnus Sean Woods.

Halfway through the second half, I nearly updated my facebook status to say that Sean Woods would receive a standing ovation at the YUM Center on Thursday being a former Wildcat at all.

But games like these? It's why we watch March Madness. The thrill and excitement.

As far as comebacks go, it does not quite touch the Mardis Gras Miracle in Baton Rouge in 1994, when UK was down 68–37 with less than sixteen minutes left to go in the game. Of course, Kentucky would go onto outscore LSU 62–27, and win 99–95 what is easily one of the greatest comebacks in college basketball history.

2012 NCAA First Four: Tuesday Edition

Games played at UD Arena in Dayton and airing only on TruTV

16 Western Kentucky 59, Mississippi Valley State 58
14 BYU 78, Iona 72

Pierre Garcon leaves Colts

Pierre Garcon has decided to sign with Washington, thus another fan favorite has left Indianapolis.

He posted on Facebook:

I wanted you all to hear it from me 1st before u saw it on the news... I will be signing with the Washington Redskins and I'm very excited about the opportunity in front of me.

I want to thank all Colts fans from the bottom of my heart for all the love and support you've shown me the past 4 years and I hope that at some level u will still follow my career, as I will continue to share my life with you on here...

Fab Melo ineligible for NCAA tournament

Fab Melo, the Syracuse center, has been named as ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. This comes as a big blow to Syracuse's chances for any kind of a deep run. ESPN notes the following:

However, a source told ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil: "This is an academic issue related to the first suspension. He was initially cleared after the first suspension but the NCAA has since revisited the case and deemed him ineligible again."[...]

Melo, a 7-footer, was the Big East defensive player of the year and made coach Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone defense a formidable one. He averaged 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and registered 88 blocks for the Orange, who spent a good portion of the season ranked No. 1 despite multiple off-court distractions.

If you were wondering as to how much of an impact it is for the Syracuse squad, they went 2-1 in his absence, losing only to Notre Dame.

The three games that Fab Melo missed?

Notre Dame 67, Syracuse 58 AT NOTRE DAME
Syracuse 60, Cincinnati 53 AT CINCINNATI
Syracuse 63, West Virginia 61 AT SYRACUSE

Even though Syracuse went 2-1 without him, the two wins were barely even wins at all. They almost LOST to West Virginia at home although the officials missed a goaltending call.

CBS Sports names POY, other awards

CBS Sports has named Anthony Davis as the Player of the Year. This comes as no surprise.

Here are the CBS awards related to Kentucky.

National Player of the Year

Winner: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Reason: Kansas junior Thomas Robinson led for this honor for most of the season, and deservedly so. He's terrific. But Davis is just better. The Kentucky big is averaging 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks per game. He affects the game tremendously on both ends of the court, and he's the best player on the nation's best team. Does he carry the Wildcats like Robinson carries the Jayhawks? No. But that's because John Calipari surrounded him with other pros, and we're not gonna hold that against Davis.

National Freshman of the Year

Winner: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

Reason: If he's our National Player of the Year, then guess what? He's also our National Freshman of the Year. Any other choice wouldn't make sense.

Davis was named as the center for the First Team All-American. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was named as a forward on the Second Team. Both MKG and Davis were named as forward and center on the Freshman All-American team.

CBS also named their conference awards.

For the Southeastern Conference:
Player of the Year: Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
Coach of the Year: John Calipari (Kentucky)
Freshman of the Year: Anthony Davis (Kentucky)

The SEC first team included Davis and MKG. Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones were named to the second team.

Louisville loves Basketball

Via an ESPN Twitter account:

These 5 cities loved last night's ESPN Bracketology most: L'ville (6.3), Greensboro (4.9), KC (4.2), Memphis (3.8), Cincy (3.6).

This tells you that the city of Louisville, which DOES include many Kentucky Wildcat fans, enjoys college basketball. I was watching it over the newest episode of Once Upon A Time, which I recorded and watched later on in the evening.

It's this time of year that networks like ABC and NBC are COMPLETE IDIOTS for airing NEW PROGRAMMING opposite the NCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT. I'm sorry but I'm watching basketball over my sitcoms. I love my sitcoms but watching basketball tape-delayed just isn't the same.

Some NCAA/SEC Tournament thoughts...

Personally, for the sake of not having to take two cars, I'm hoping for a primetime matchup in the evening, probably on CBS. I don't know which commentators we will be getting but based on Nantz/Kellogg in Dayton on Tuesday, they will be doing a Thursday/Saturday location, which includes Louisville.

Am I angry that UK lost to Vandy this afternoon? Not as much. We probably did need a loss. They were getting too arrogrant after running the conference. Plus, the omens line up with history. We won it all in 1951 AFTER losing to Vandy in the SEC Championship game. In 1996, after running through the conference with only one non-conference loss, we lost to Mississippi State in the conference championship game. Interestingly, both Vandy and Miss. State recieved 5 seeds. But Vandy would have to play Syracuse for a slot to the Elite 8 as opposed to the championship game. It's funny though that Miss. State knocked off a Big East team to go to the Elite 8.

Another 1996 omen is that a ACC team has the 2 seed. This happened again this year, with Duke receiving the 2 seed. There's storylines all over the South region. A rematch of last year's Final Four. A possible rematch against Indiana. A rematch against Duke, marking the 20th anniversary of THE SHOT.

Now, Kentucky has a lot of positive history in Catlanta so that's a great location although you should know right now that Cal's 1996 UMass team was placed in the same region that played in Atlanta and they ended up losing in the final four. Is that a bad omen? I don't know. Honestly. It's March. Anything can happen!

Cal's on ESPN Bracketology and is making jokes about playing in Dayton. He hasn't really seen the bracket though. The winning streak is done now. We aren't invincible. Games could be dog fights but we're in the month of March. It's a one-and-done tournament now.

2012 NCAA Tournament Pairings

NCAA Tournament times have now been announced along with broadcast teams and locations.

FIRST FOUR
Tuesday, March 13
At University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
16 Mississippi Valley State vs. Western Kentucky, 6:40 PM (TruTV)
14 BYU vs. Iona, 9 PM (TruTV), 30 minutes after

Wednesday, March 14
16 Lamar vs. Vermont, 6:40 PM (TruTV)
12 California vs. South Florida, 30 minutes after (TruTV)

SOUTH REGION
Thursday, March 15
At YUM! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
1 Kentucky vs. 16 Mississippi Valley State/Western Kentucky, 6:50 PM (TBS)
8 Iowa State vs. 9 UConn, 30 minutes after (TBS)

At Rose Garden, Portland Oregon
4 Indiana vs. 13 New Mexico State, 30 minutes after (CBS)
5 Wichita State vs. 12 Virginia Commonwealth, 7:15 PM (CBS)

At The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico
3 Baylor vs. 14 South Dakota State, 7:27 PM (TruTV)
6 UNLV vs. 11 Colorado, 30 minutes after (TruTV)

Friday, March 16
At Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
2 Duke vs. 15 Lehigh, 7:15 PM (CBS)
7 Notre Dame vs. 10 Xavier, 30 minutes after (CBS)

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS
March 23 and 25, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia

WEST REGION
Friday, March 16
At Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
1 Michigan State vs. 16 LIU Brooklyn, 30 minutes after (TBS)
8 Memphis vs. 9 Saint Louis, 6:50 PM (TBS)

Thursday, March 15
At Rose Garden, Portland Oregon
4 Louisville vs. 13 Davidson, 1:40 PM (TBS)
5 New Mexico vs. 12 Long Beach State, 30 minutes after (TBS)

At YUM! Center, Louisville, Kentucky
3 Marquette vs. 14 BYU/Iona winner, 30 minutes after (CBS)
6 Murray State vs. 11 Colorado State, 12:15 PM (CBS)

Friday, March 16
At CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
2 Missouri vs. 15 Norfolk State, 30 minutes after (TNT)
7 Florida vs. 10 Virginia, 2:10 PM (TNT)

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS
March 22 and 24, US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona

EAST REGION
Thursday, March 15
At Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1 Syracuse vs. 16 UNC-Asheville, 30 minutes after
8 Kansas State vs. 9 Southern Miss, 12:40 PM (TruTV)

At The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico
4 Wisconsin vs. 13 Montana, 2:10 PM (TNT)
5 Vanderbilt vs. 12 Harvard, 30 minutes after (TNT)

Friday, March 16
At Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
3 Florida State vs. 14 St. Bonaventure, 30 minutes after (CBS)
6 Cincinnati vs. 11 Texas, 12:15 PM (CBS)

Thursday, March 15
At Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2 Ohio State vs. 15 Loyola (MD), 30 minutes after (TNT)
7 Gonzaga vs. 10 West Virginia, 7:20 PM (TNT)

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS
March 22 and 24, TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

MIDWEST REGION
Friday, March 16
At Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
1 North Carolina vs. 16 Lamar/Vermont winner, 30 minutes after (TBS)
8 Creighton vs. 9 Alabama, 1:40 PM (TBS)

At Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
5 Temple vs. 12 California/USF winner, 30 minutes after (TNT)
4 Michigan vs. 13 Ohio, 7:20 PM (TNT)

At Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
6 San Diego State vs. 11 NC State, 12:40 PM (TruTV)
3 Georgetown vs. 14 Belmont, 30 minutes after (TruTV)

At CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. 10 Purdue, 7:27 PM (TruTV)
No. 2 Kansas vs. 15 Detroit, 30 minutes after (TruTV)

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS
March 23 and 25, Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

At Mercedes-Benz (Louisiana) Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana
NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
March 31, 6 PM and 8:30 PM

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
April 2, 9 PM

Play-By-Play / Analyst/Reporter
*Regional Announcer Teams
Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Tracy Wolfson* - Greensboro
Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager* - Omaha
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery/Lesley Visser* - Louisville
Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore /Reggie Miller/Marty Snider* - Pittsburgh
Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Lewis Johnson - Nashville
Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner/Jenn Hildreth - Portland
Tim Brando/Mike Gminski/Otis Livingston - Columbus
Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel/Jamie Maggio - Albuquerque

Sideline Reporters: Tracy Wolfson, Craig Sager, Lesley Visser, Marty Snider, Lewis Johnson, Jaime Maggio and Otis Livingston

First Four Broadcast Team:
Tuesday: Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg/Steve Kerr/Tracy Wolfson
Wednesday: Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel//Lewis Johnson

CBS scores Obama interview

CBS Sports will have an interview with President Obama during Tuesday's First Four game.

CBS Sports and Turner Sports combine for a live exclusive joint interview of United States President Barack Obama and Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron on truTV, Tuesday, March 13 (6:30 PM, ET) during halftime of the first game from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship FIRST FOUR in Dayton, Ohio.

CBS Sports’ Clark Kellogg will conduct the interview in what will be the first and only joint interview of the two Heads of State during this visit. This will be Kellogg’s third time interviewing President Obama as the President joined him in broadcasting the Duke-Georgetown game in January 2010 and played one-on-one at the White House in an interview later that year in April during the NCAA Tournament.

Kellogg will join CBS Sports lead play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and Turner Sports’ Steve Kerr to call the first two games of the NCAA FIRST FOUR on truTV from the University of Dayton Arena.

2012 NCAA Tournament: Automatic Bids

It's that time of year again. Conference tournaments are underway and here are teams that have received an automatic bid ti the big dance.

UPDATED: March 11, 2012

America East: Vermont
Atlantic 10: St. Bonaventure
ACC: Florida State
Atlantic Sun: Belmont
Big 12: Missouri
Big East: Louisville
Big Sky: Montana
Big South: UNC-Asheville
Big Ten: Michigan State
Big West: Long Beach State
Colonial: VCU
C-USA: Memphis
Horizon: Detroit
Ivy League: Harvard
MAAC: Loyola (MD)
MAC: Ohio
MEAC: Norfolk State
Missouri Valley: Creighton
Mountain West: New Mexico
Northeast: Long Island
Ohio Valley: Murray State
Pac-12: Colorado
Patriot: Lehigh
SEC: Vanderbilt
Southern: Davidson:
Southland: Lmaar
SWAC: Mississippi Valley State
Summit: South Dakota State
Sun Belt: Western Kentucky
West Coast: Saint Mary's
WAC: New Mexico State

Brackets will be announced on CBS at 6 Eastern.

Omens for a Championship

1951: Vanderbilt wins the SEC tournament, Kentucky wins the NCAA Championship
1996: UK loses to UMass during the season and Mississippi State in the conference championship game.

2012 SEC Tournament

First Round
(8) LSU 70, (9) Arkansas 54
(5) Alabama 63, (12) South Carolina 57
(7) Ole Miss 68, (10) Auburn 57
(11) Georgia 71, (6) Mississippi State 61

Quarterfinals
(1) Kentucky 60, (8) LSU 51
(4) Florida 66, (5) Alabama 63
(7) Ole Miss 77, (2) Tennessee 72 (OT)
(3) Vanderbilt vs. (11) Georgia, 10 PM

Semifinals
(1) Kentucky 74, (4) Florida 71
(3) Vanderbilt 65, (7) Ole Miss 53

Championship
(3) Vanderbilt 71, (1) Kentucky 64

Like last two years, the first two rounds were on the SEC Network while the final two rounds were nationally aired on ABC.

Commentators:
Daycap: Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes, Shannon Spake
Nightcap: Dave Neal, Kara Lawson

When Grant Expelled the Jews by Jonathan Sarna

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Schocken (March 13, 2012)

Over the course of the last week, I spent time reading the recently published When Grant Expelled the Jews by Jonathan Sarna. The book deals with General Order No. 11, issued by General Ulysses S. Grant on December 17, 1862. This order, along with Grant's reputation of being a drunk, is one of the reasons why I, initially, had mixed views of Grant.

President Lincoln revoked the order as soon as he heard about it.

However, Sarna did a great job with this book. I no longer have that negative view of Grant, in spite of his leading the Union Army to victory during the Civil War. It's better than that now. Grant was a CHAMPION of human rights. He went as far as intervening in places like Russia and Romania after hearing how they treated Jewish people. He appointed more Jews to government positions than ANY OTHER PRESIDENT prior to his 1868 inauguration. For American Jews to be appointed to so many positions, it was groundbreaking. He was the first of any sitting or former president to visit Israel.

Grant, I imagine, was forever remorseful for issuing that order. It's no secret that many Jews wanted to vote against his candidacy in 1868. I'm not surprised. Not one bit at all. In all likelihood, I would have voted for him both times but only after I read where he was sorry for the order.

The 1868 election was the first one in which Jewish voters had no balance not only being an American but a Jewish-American no less.

When Grant died, his funeral was held on Shabbas. Rabbi Dr. Edward Benjamin Morris "Alphabet" Browne was the only Jewish person to serve as an honorary pallbearer for the funeral. He was on the conservative side of the reform movement. Instead of riding in the carriage, he walked the 7 miles to Grant's burial in Riverside, which was most definitely a slap in the face to the Reform movement wanting to do away with many Jewish laws at the time. It should come as no surprise though that Congregation Gates of Hope, the shul where he served as Rabbi, would later ditch the Reform movement for the Conservative movement in 1933. That shul is now the Park Avenye Synagogue.

Sarna's book is "a riveting account" of Grant's decision during the Civil War. The Brandeis professor did a marvelous job with looking into a glimpse of Grant's life and it's effect on Jewish-Americans.

Sarna will be visiting Louisville as a part of his book tour. His stop will be at 7 PM on Wednesday, April 25th at the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.

2012 Comedy Awards Nominees

The 2012 Comedy Awards nominees have been announced. The awards will air on Sunday, May 8th.

COMEDY FILM
"The Artist"
"Bridesmaids"
"Crazy, Stupid, Love."
"Horrible Bosses"
"Midnight in Paris"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR (FILM)
Jason Bateman, "Horrible Bosses"
Steve Carell, "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Zach Galifianakis, "The Hangover Part II"
Owen Wilson, "Midnight in Paris"

COMEDY DIRECTOR (FILM)
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
James Bobin, "The Muppets"
Paul Feig, "Bridesmaids"
Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

COMEDY SERIES
"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Happy Endings"
"Modern Family"
"Parks and Recreation"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR (TV)
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
Louis C.K., "Louie"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

COMEDY DIRECTING( TV)
"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Louie"
"Modern Family"
"The Office"

ANIMATED COMEDY FILM
"Cars 2"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss In Boots"
"Rango"
"Rio"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS (FILM)
Jennifer Aniston, "Horrible Bosses"
Cameron Diaz, "Bad Teacher"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Emma Stone, "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids"

COMEDY SCREENPLAY
"50/50"
"Bridesmaids"
"Crazy, Stupid, Love."
"Horrible Bosses"
"Midnight in Paris"

ANIMATED COMEDY SERIES
"Archer"
"Family Guy"
"The Life & Times of Tim"
"The Simpsons"
"South Park"

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS (TV)
Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"
Kristen Wiig, "Saturday Night Live"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"

COMEDY WRITING (TV)
"30 Rock"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Louie"
"Modern Family"
"Parks and Recreation"
"Saturday Night Live"

LATE NIGHT COMEDY SERIES
"The Colbert Report"
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"
"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"
"Late Show with David Letterman"
"Real Time with Bill Maher"

BREAKOUT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Zooey Deschanel
Josh Gad
Donald Glover
Melissa McCarthy
Jason Sudeikis

CLUB COMIC
Ted Alexandro
Hannibal Buress
Pete Holmes
Anthony Jeselnik
Moshe Kasher
John Mulaney
Kumail Nanjiani
Chelsea Peretti
Amy Schumer
Rory Scovel

Rajon Rondo has MONSTER game

Against the Linsanity of the New York Knicks and recent trade rumors, Rajon Rondo recorded a MONSTER game with another TRIPLE-DOUBLE!

NBA.com:

Paul Pierce delivered on the role of hero during today’s game, but Rajon Rondo played the role of stat stuffer.

Rondo recorded his fourth triple-double of the season in amazing fashion. This wasn’t just a triple-double – it was a monster triple-double. He scored 18 points to go along with his game-high totals of 17 rebounds and 20 assists. He also committed only four turnovers, leading to a shining assist-to-turnover ratio of 5-to-1.

The performance forced statisticians everywhere to look back in the history books to see how it stacks up against other triple-doubles of the past. Although we don’t have those comparisons handy at the moment, we can say that Rondo’s game was historic enough to cause Kevin Garnett to take a copy of the box score home with him as a souvenir.

Tornado Watch in Effect!

The NWS has issued a Tornado Watch for counties in the Louisville metro area. Expiring at 9 PM eastern.

PSA: SEVERE WEATHER ALERT

Severe weather is expected between noon and 5 PM eastern. Plan your day accordingly. Don't go out if you don't have to.

Via the WAVE-3 Weather Team and the Storm Prediction Center:

The Storm Prediction Center has issued a HIGH RISK for severe storms today. I can't stress enough how extremely rare this is...it rarely happens in the Spring let alone in "Winter."[...]

At this point, I would include *ALL* of the WAVE 3 viewing area in the high risk. Below is the statement from the Storm Prediction Center. It's important to note they've included large long tracked tornadoes...this is why the HIGH RISK was issued. It's a lot of "weather talk" but gets to the point.

SPC: THE VERY STRONG VERTICAL SHEAR...MODERATE INSTABILITY...A MOIST LOW-LEVEL ENVIRONMENT...AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF A FEW DISCRETE WARM SECTOR SUPERCELLS / AND SUPERCELLS WITHIN THE LINE ALONG THE FRONT/...ALL APPEAR SUPPORTIVE OF A POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT TORNADO EPISODE WITH A FEW LONG-TRACK/STRONG TORNADOES. THE MOST PROBABLE AREA FOR DAMAGING TORNADOES WILL BE SE OF THE SURFACE LOW TRACK IN THE MORE ESTABLISHED WARM SECTOR...OR NEAR AND S OF THE OH RIVER FROM EXTREME SRN INDIANA INTO CENTRAL KY/NRN MIDDLE TN. BOTH PRE-FRONTAL AND FRONTAL SUPERCELLS ARE MOST PROBABLE IN THE HIGH RISK AREA...AND SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD SPREAD AS FAR NE AS SW OH AND WRN WV BEFORE EXITING THE WARM SECTOR THIS EVENING. OTHERWISE...DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED WITH THE PRE-FRONTAL AND FRONTAL STORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING.

Wake Up, Kentucky!

Rated R for Language.

New video soon

In addition to working on yet another original screenplay, I've been hard at work in post-production of Wake Up, Kentucky!, a reaction to the failure of expanded gambling in the Kentucky State Senate.